Gary Brown '87

A portrait of Gary Brown in his football uniform on the sidelines.

Gary Leroy Brown, Jr. was born on July 1, 1969, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The man with the big heart, and even bigger smile and personality, began his career in football at Williamsport Area High School in the mid-80s. Rushing for over 4,000 yards and 74 touchdowns for the Millionaires, he went on to be a standout running back and defensive back at Penn State.

In 1991, the NFL came calling. Drafted by the Houston Oilers, "GB" played eight seasons for the Oilers, Chargers, and then Giants, racking up two 1,000 yard plus seasons.

When it was time to hang up the cleats, GB began a new journey in 2000 by mentoring young men as an assistant football coach at his high school alma mater. He quickly moved to the college ranks, first at Lycoming College, then as offensive coordinator at Susquehanna University, finally at Rutgers University before returning to the NFL as a position coach.

In 2009, Gary landed the first of what would be eleven years as a premier running backs coach in the league. He spent four years with The Cleveland Browns before The Dallas Cowboys came calling in 2013. GB spent the next seven seasons mentoring some of the NFL’s greatest running backs with the Cowboys.

The final chapter in his storied football life came last year as he spent the 2021 season coaching running backs at the University of Wisconsin.

He passed away on April 10, 2022.